The invention concerns a device for manipulating objects with a gripper or the like, which is connected with a gear unit and drive motor via at least one arm, the arm being provided with at least one hollow shaft, the rotary motion of which being transmissible to a following shaft.
Manipulators of this type in diverse shapes and designs are known. They are used especially for manipulating and operating objects, for example in clean rooms or in nuclear plants. The purpose of the manipulators is that the user does not come in contact with the objects to be handled.
If, for example, objects are gripped and turned or operated, the gripper is designed correspondingly. In this case the concept of gripper is to include all possible handling devices, and in the present case is not to be limited to a special area of application.
As a rule, known manipulators work with a number of arm pieces, which are connected by means of articulated joints. The motion of these arm pieces takes place, for example via a belt-and-pulley arrangement or the like.
However, DE-OS 37 34 179 concerns a motion transmission in the case of which a number of hollow shafts turn inside one another and in each case the edges of these hollow shafts are provided with a helical gearing, via which the corresponding motion also may be transmitted via an articulated joint. A transmission of this kind by means of hollow shafts and helical gearing has significant advantages over belt-and-pulley arrangements, especially with respect to the drive and the sureness of transmission of the motion. In addition, repairing manipulators of this kind is a problem, since for example in the case of wear of the helical gearing the entire hollow shaft has to be replaced. Further, the use is greatly complicated by the necessity of a large number of ball bearings.